Photo from ONE Championship
Filipino-Indonesian strawweight Aziz “The Krauser” Calim already knows what it feels like to get a win in ONE Championship, and it is a feeling that he wants to get used to.
He gets a chance to notch his second-straight win in The Home of Martial Arts when he battles Ryuto “Dragon Boy” Sawada of Japan on the undercard of ONE: Dreams of Gold on Friday at Impact Arena in Bangkok.
“I’m really excited for this match. I trained hard because I want to pick up where I left off this year. Of course there are nerves, but I’m ready,” Calim said.
“I feel blessed with the opportunities that continue to swing my way.”
Calim is fresh off his first win in the largest martial arts organization in the world where he made quick work of Adi Paryanto at ONE: Eternal Glory last January, winning by submission in the first round.
It was a great bounce-back for Calim after he suffered a second-round submission loss to Adrian “Papua Bad Boy” Mattheis in his debut late last year at ONE: Warrior’s Dream.
Knowing what it is like to finally taste a win, he certainly does not want to go back on the losing end.
“My first two matches were huge, especially my win last January, because it has only built my confidence that I belong here, and I saw things that I can use this Friday against Sawada,” Calim said.
“But more than that, it helped me as a person. It showed me the things that I need to do in order to reach more in martial arts, to strive more because I’m competing in ONE Championship now.”
But he understands that he has to work for it each and every time because of the caliber of warriors that he will be facing in ONE, starting with Sawada.
“There is no easy match and that’s why I’m really striving for this, to showcase my full potential in the match. I believe in my skills, and I know I can get my second-straight win this Friday.”